Hwang won quarterfinal heat 3 on Feb. 15 (Korea time) at the Milan Ice Skating Arena in Italy, finishing first among six in 2:23.283.
In the men’s 1,500 quarterfinals, the top three finishers from each of six heats advance, along with the three fastest fourth-place skaters.
The 1,500 is South Korea’s most successful men’s Olympic short track event. South Korean men have won Olympic gold in the race four times: Turin 2006 (Viktor Ahn, then Ahn Hyun-soo), Vancouver 2010 (Lee Jung-su), Pyeongchang 2018 (Lin Xiaojun, then Lim Hyo-jun) and Beijing 2022 (Hwang).
Hwang, seeking a second straight Olympic title in the event, advanced along with Shaoang Liu of China (2:23.370) and Shogo Miyata of Japan (2:23.454), who finished second and third in the heat.
In heat 5, Shin finished in a tie for second in 2:17.365 to move on, but Lim Jong-eon fell on his own during the race and finished last, missing the semifinals.
Lim, who earlier won bronze in the 1,000 at these Games, was also aiming for a medal in the 1,500 but was eliminated.
Lin, who competed for South Korea before switching nationality to China in 2020, also failed to reach the semifinals in his main event. He previously placed fourth in the mixed 2,000 relay and was eliminated in the 1,000 quarterfinals.
The men’s 1,500 semifinals are scheduled to begin at 5:49 a.m. shortly after.
* This article has been translated by AI.
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